Last Tues. I got out for an evening hunt with the 7/08 Encore pistol and sat at the lower end of a blow-down, against a small tree, facing the east with the wind at my back. I was high enough on the ridge that I'd hoped the wind wouldn't be an issue. I placed the Encore in the shooting sticks and settled in.
I sat there for about an hr. and a half and was getting prepared to leave as it would be dark in 15 minutes, then I heard something over my left shoulder. It was a doe slightly quartering in my direction, about 100 yds away. I figured right away that a buck must be close on her tail, so I quickly turned around and got on my knee's, with the Encore pushed out in front in anticipation of the buck coming next.
He was only a few seconds behind the doe, and from the view I got of his rack in the skyline, I had no doubt he was a shooter. The doe ran on past me and I was able to stop the buck twice with making some grunting sounds and I even hollered something at him, though I don't remember what I said. When he stopped both times, I couldn't find him in the scope.
He finally stopped a third time 25 or so yrds from me, to the left of the blow-down's trunk. By now I was standing up and figured there was no way I could still use the shooting sticks, so I grabbed the Encore tight with both hands and let one fly when I saw shoulder in the crosshairs. One shot dumped him right down with a double-lung'r.
The doe soon swung back around and was looking for her buck. I planned to fill my antlerless tag, too, though she didn't come any closer than 60-70 yds and I wasn't about to take another off-hand shot. As I was kneeling next to my buck, I heard something coming over the ridgetop and it was a forked horn following the same route the buck and doe had taken previously, with his nose in the leaves. He got to within 10 yds of me before he knew something wasn't right and began snorting. I finally stood back up and he trotted off.
I apologize for the bad pic.
